Acrylic painting opens up an impressive range of techniques and creative possibilities. Yet, understanding the essentials of acrylic painting materials—from the right types of paint and mediums to essential tools and surfaces—is fundamental to making the most of this medium.
Without the right basics, from heavy body acrylics to palette knives and canvas pads, even the most inspired vision can fall short.
In this guide, I’ll walk through the essentials you need, whether you’re just getting started or looking to deepen your practice.
We’ll cover specific materials and tools, including fluid acrylics, gel mediums, and texture tools for advanced techniques.
Expect insights on storage, maintenance, and care, as well, to keep your artwork intact over time. By the end, you’ll have a clear, comprehensive understanding of the core supplies for acrylics and how to apply them.
Essential Acrylic Painting Supplies
Brushes for Acrylics
Brushes specifically suited for acrylics vary in type, bristle quality, and handle length. Each serves a purpose, whether it’s laying down a wide swath of color with a flat brush, creating fine lines with a liner brush, or blending edges with a filbert.
Synthetic brushes are a solid choice here. They’re resilient, flexible, and work well for both thin and thick applications of heavy body acrylics. It’s essential to understand your brush type—flat, filbert, detail brush—to maximize control over paint application and texture creation.
Paint Types and Mediums
The paint itself comes in a range of viscosities. Heavy-body acrylics offer thicker, buttery textures, ideal for impasto technique, while fluid acrylics or high-flow acrylics are better for details and wash effects.
Acrylics are unique for their versatility, allowing easy adjustments in texture, transparency, and gloss by adding specific mediums. A gloss gel medium, for example, can add body and sheen to the paint, while a matte medium produces a non-reflective finish.
Pouring mediums help thin the paint for fluid art, and a drying retarder slows down acrylics’ notoriously quick drying time, providing more time to blend colors smoothly.
Canvas and Surface Selection
Acrylics work on numerous surfaces, but stretched canvas, canvas board, and wood are popular choices. Canvas pads are often chosen by artists for practice or studies.
Priming is critical when using canvas; gesso primer creates a smooth surface and prevents paint from seeping into the fibers, providing a stable base for acrylic paint.
Each surface offers unique characteristics; wood, for instance, allows for fine detailing, whereas stretched canvas enables a textured, robust finish.
Palette and Mixing Tools
Acrylic paint dries quickly, so choosing a mixing palette that minimizes drying—like a stay-wet palette—is key.
Traditional palettes work well, but a palette paper or glass palette offers easy cleanup and a non-porous surface.
Palette knives can also be used, especially for mixing larger amounts of color or creating textures directly on the canvas. Having a versatile set of tools for blending and applying color enhances control over your work, from thin, translucent glazes to thick, bold strokes.
Priming and Preparing Surfaces
Gesso is the foundational primer for most surfaces used in acrylic painting. It seals and stiffens the canvas or wood, helping the paint adhere without being absorbed too quickly.
Applying multiple coats of gesso to a stretched canvas can provide a smoother surface for finer detail work. Priming not only improves paint adherence but also preserves the canvas, extending the artwork’s lifespan.
Additional Tools for Texture and Detail
For adding dimension, a range of tools, from texture brushes to modeling paste, expands acrylic’s expressive potential.
Gel medium thickens paint without diluting its pigment, while modeling paste can create raised textures on the canvas, a technique popular for creating more tactile, 3D effects.
Crackle paste adds an aged, crackled effect that is particularly effective when layered under paint or glaze.
Clean-Up Essentials
Acrylic paint dries quickly, often becoming permanent once set, so it’s essential to clean brushes, palette knives, and palettes immediately.
Brush soap and warm water are standard, but if paint starts to dry, a bit of brush cleaner can help preserve bristles.
Ensuring a clean workspace is important, especially for synthetic and detail brushes, as dried acrylic paint can damage bristles beyond repair.
Painting Surfaces for Acrylics
Stretched Canvas
Stretched canvas is the go-to for most acrylic artists. It’s durable, absorbs acrylic paint well, and offers a slight give that makes brushstrokes feel natural.
Pre-stretched canvases usually come pre-primed with gesso, which is helpful for immediate painting without preparation.
A personal preference for many is to add an extra coat or two of gesso to ensure a smoother, less absorbent surface, which can be important for techniques like layering and glazing.
Stretched canvas also has the advantage of being ready to hang once completed, no need for framing in most cases.
Canvas Board
Canvas boards give you a sturdier surface that’s easy to store and frame. They’re typically canvas fabric mounted onto cardboard or a hard surface, making them less flexible than stretched canvas but still easy to handle.
Canvas boards are often chosen for their portability and lower cost, especially useful for practice sessions, studies, or plein air painting.
Though they lack the springiness of stretched canvas, canvas boards offer enough tooth and texture to work well with heavy body acrylics or layering mediums.
Canvas Pads
Canvas pads provide sheets of canvas that can be used like sketchpads, ideal for practicing techniques or testing color mixes.
These are less formal than stretched canvas but allow for easy priming and customization. Canvas pads aren’t meant for display as they come, so they’re primarily used for exploration, quick studies, or preliminary sketches.
It’s helpful to tape them down onto a rigid surface when working to prevent shifting.
Each sheet is often pre-primed but can benefit from additional layers of gesso, especially for artists focusing on fine details or high texture.
Wood Panels
Wood panels give a solid, smooth surface that’s ideal for fine details and more controlled paint application.
These come in various types, like birch or maple, and provide a different feel compared to canvas. They don’t flex, which makes them stable for heavy applications like modeling paste or impasto techniques.
A smooth wood panel often benefits from a few coats of gesso to prevent the wood from absorbing paint unevenly.
The non-porous nature also means less paint absorption, leading to vibrant color and more precise blending, especially with fluid acrylics.
Paper for Acrylics
Paper designed for acrylics is thick and textured to withstand moisture and prevent warping.
Acrylic paper pads are often used for practice or quick work as they’re lighter and more portable than canvas. This paper can handle wet-on-wet technique and thicker layers, though it can eventually warp if overloaded with paint or water.
For artists who prefer flexibility and don’t want to worry about handling bulkier surfaces, acrylic paper is an accessible choice. It’s usually pre-treated but may benefit from an extra layer of gesso to add durability.
Pitfalls of Choosing Surfaces
Each surface has its challenges. Stretched canvas can sometimes warp over time if not properly stored, while canvas boards can feel too rigid for those used to the bounce of stretched canvas.
Canvas pads lack permanence, as they aren’t suitable for long-term display without mounting. Wood panels, while great for durability and texture, can be heavy and cumbersome for transport.
Additional Tools and Accessories
Palette Knives
Palette knives are more than just mixing tools. They’re a way to apply paint directly to the surface for thicker textures, unique patterns, or impasto effects.
Metal palette knives are durable and clean easily, ideal for mixing heavy body acrylics or applying gels and pastes.
Plastic knives work well for blending but can bend under pressure. Both types allow for quick color mixing on the palette without worrying about damaging brushes.
Gel Mediums
Gel mediums are versatile for altering acrylic paint’s thickness and texture without changing its color.
Heavy gel mediums create volume and dimension, useful for bold texture, while soft gels provide a more subtle lift.
A gloss gel medium enhances color vibrancy, while matte gel reduces shine for a flat finish. These mediums are key to exploring varied textures and effects without thinning pigment, making them a staple among acrylic painting materials.
Gloss and Matte Varnishes
Varnishes protect acrylic paintings, sealing in the paint and adding a final finish. Gloss varnishes deepen color intensity, giving a sleek, polished look, while matte varnishes offer a soft, non-reflective finish.
Both can be applied in thin layers for even coverage. Brush-on varnishes allow for more control, but spray varnishes work well for large canvases or achieving a smoother finish without visible brushstrokes.
Masking Tape
Masking tape is useful for creating clean, sharp edges and sections within a painting. It prevents paint bleed when layering colors or working on geometric designs.
Painter’s tape, a specific type of masking tape, minimizes residue and avoids tearing the surface when removed. Essential for precision, it ensures defined areas without disrupting the surrounding work.
Brush Cleaner and Preserver
Acrylic paint dries fast, and once it sets on a brush, it’s difficult to remove. Brush cleaners help dissolve dried paint, while brush preservers restore bristles to their original softness.
Proper cleaning tools extend brush life, especially for synthetic brushes prone to hardening. Brush soap is another good choice, ensuring paint is fully removed from the bristles to keep them pliable.
Spray Bottles and Misters
Spray bottles or fine misters keep acrylic paint wet on the palette, preventing it from drying out too quickly.
A light mist maintains workable paint consistency without diluting it. This tool is particularly helpful in warmer climates where paint dries faster, allowing for extended blending time on the canvas or palette.
Additional Texture Tools
Beyond brushes and knives, various texture tools like combs, sponges, and stippling brushes add distinct marks and patterns.
Sponges can create soft, gradient textures, while combs carve lines and patterns in thick paint. These accessories open up new avenues for creating depth and complexity, enabling layered textures that catch light differently.
Pitfalls of Using Additional Tools
Overuse of palette knives can lead to muddy color mixtures if not wiped clean frequently.
Gel mediums can alter drying times, so thick applications may crack if not properly supported.
Varnishes need a steady hand for even application, and too much spray can result in a cloudy or streaked finish.
The Acrylic Mediums and Their Uses
Gloss Medium
Gloss medium enhances color intensity, giving acrylic paint a rich, luminous finish. It’s useful for layering as it dries clear and creates depth without cloudiness.
When mixed with heavy body acrylics, it increases transparency, allowing for smooth glazes.
Adding gloss medium to fluid acrylics produces a high-sheen finish and deepens colors, making it a choice for vibrant areas or details.
Matte Medium
Matte medium reduces the shine of acrylic paint, producing a flat, non-reflective finish. It’s ideal for artwork intended for reproduction, as it eliminates glare.
Blending it into soft body acrylics helps reduce the natural gloss, creating a consistent, even surface.
Matte medium also adds a bit of tooth to the surface, which can be beneficial when layering paint or drawing over it with pencils.
Gel Medium
Gel mediums, available in gloss or matte, alter paint consistency without affecting color intensity.
Heavy gel thickens paint, ideal for creating texture or impasto effects. Soft gel provides a smoother texture, perfect for delicate layering.
Gel mediums extend the drying time slightly, allowing for more manipulation and smoother transitions between colors.
Fluid Medium
Fluid medium thins acrylics without compromising pigment. It’s designed to help artists achieve a more watercolor-like effect with acrylics or when working on intricate details.
Fluid mediums are commonly used in acrylic pouring techniques to create smooth, even coverage and reduce brushstrokes.
This medium works well on non-porous surfaces like glass or wood panels, as it maintains transparency and flows evenly.
Retarder
Retarder slows the drying time of acrylic paint, giving more working time for blending. It’s especially helpful for blending edges, creating gradients, or working on larger canvases.
Retarder needs to be added sparingly; too much can result in tacky paint that won’t fully dry, leading to uneven texture. It’s best to test the retarder ratio on a palette before applying it directly to a painting.
Pouring Medium
Pouring medium creates a smooth, even flow in acrylic paint, ideal for acrylic pouring techniques.
It prevents paint from cracking as it dries and maintains color vibrancy without dimming or cloudiness.
Pouring mediums can be mixed with fluid acrylics to create marbled effects and cells that are unique to acrylic pours. They offer a controlled consistency, reducing the risk of overly thick layers that might dry unevenly.
Texture Mediums
Texture mediums like modeling paste and crackle paste introduce dimension and tactile qualities to acrylic artwork.
Modeling paste adds bulk, allowing artists to create raised surfaces or sculpted areas on the canvas.
Crackle paste creates a weathered, cracked effect when it dries, adding visual interest and texture. Both types should be applied in thin layers to avoid cracking or peeling over time.
Pitfalls of Using Acrylic Mediums
Overuse of gloss medium can cause an overly shiny surface that reflects too much light, while excess matte medium may dull colors.
Gel mediums in heavy layers may crack if the painting surface isn’t primed or sturdy enough. Adding too much retarder can prevent acrylics from setting properly, resulting in a tacky finish.
Basic Techniques for Acrylic Painting
Dry Brush Technique
The dry brush technique uses minimal water, creating a scratchy texture where bristle marks remain visible.
It’s effective for adding texture and fine detail without diluting the paint’s pigment. Heavy body acrylics work best here due to their thicker consistency.
For this, a flat brush or detail brush gives the most control, especially when focusing on highlights or textures within landscapes or abstract works.
Wet-on-Wet Technique
Wet-on-wet involves applying fresh paint onto a wet layer underneath, blending colors directly on the canvas.
This technique is ideal for achieving smooth gradients, like in skies or water reflections. Using a retarder extends drying time, giving more freedom to blend before the paint sets.
With fluid acrylics, this technique works well for softer transitions, while heavy body paint creates thicker, more opaque layers.
Glazing
Glazing uses thin, translucent layers of paint to modify the color and depth of the underlying layers.
By adding a gloss medium or fluid medium, you can create a glaze that maintains the paint’s transparency while adding luminosity.
Glazing is useful for creating shadow, depth, and subtle color variations, often in portrait work or natural scenes.
Allow each glaze layer to dry fully before applying the next to keep colors clean and prevent muddying.
Scumbling
Scumbling involves lightly dragging a nearly dry brush with a small amount of paint across the surface, allowing the texture underneath to show through.
This is helpful for adding texture, rough edges, or color variation without completely covering the previous layer.
It’s often used in landscapes or abstract works to add a weathered effect. Soft body acrylics can give a more delicate look, while heavy body paints create bold contrasts.
Sgraffito
Sgraffito is a technique that scratches into wet paint to reveal the layer or canvas beneath.
A palette knife or the end of a brush is commonly used to carve lines or shapes into thick paint.
Sgraffito adds texture and defined lines, giving an almost etched appearance. This technique is effective for fine details, adding dimension to backgrounds, or creating contrast within the paint’s surface.
Stippling
Stippling uses small dots of paint to create gradations in color and value. It can be done with a liner brush or even a sponge for larger areas.
Each dot adds to a buildup of color and texture, useful in painting natural elements like foliage or creating soft, diffused edges.
Heavy body acrylics are best for larger stippling effects, while soft body paint or fluid acrylics allow for finer, more controlled dots.
Pitfalls of Basic Techniques
Dry brushing can fray brush bristles over time, and wet-on-wet techniques may become muddy without careful blending. Glazing requires patience, as rushing layers can obscure colors. Scumbling may result in patchy textures if the brush isn’t handled lightly. Overusing sgraffito can disrupt the underlying layers, while excessive stippling risks overwhelming the canvas with texture.
Specialized Acrylic Painting Methods
Acrylic Pouring
Acrylic pouring relies on a pouring medium to create fluid, dynamic patterns by allowing colors to flow across the surface without blending completely.
Each color remains distinct, forming marbled effects or unique cells, depending on the mixture. Fluid acrylics work best here, as they maintain pigment strength even when mixed with the medium.
This technique requires careful balance; too much pouring medium can thin the paint excessively, causing it to lose vibrancy.
Acrylic pouring is unpredictable, relying on gravity, tilting, and the occasional burst of heat to influence how the paint moves and settles.
Impasto Technique
Impasto builds up thick layers of paint, using tools like palette knives or even heavy brushes to add dimensionality.
Heavy body acrylics hold shape well, making them ideal for this technique. Gel medium can also be added to the paint to increase thickness without compromising color integrity.
Impasto brings a three-dimensional quality to the canvas, catching light and shadow in a way that flat layers don’t.
Texture tools like combs or stippling brushes enhance these effects, carving unique textures into the wet paint.
Stencil Work
Stenciling with acrylics requires precision and control, often achieved by using stencil brushes or sponges to apply paint through pre-cut shapes.
This technique works well with acrylic paint due to its fast-drying nature, minimizing smudging or bleeding.
Masking tape can secure the stencil for clean, defined edges. Stenciling is useful for repeating patterns or adding intricate designs without freehand work, commonly layered over a base coat for contrast.
Monoprinting
Monoprinting involves applying paint to a flat, non-porous surface like glass or a gel plate, then pressing it onto a canvas or paper to transfer the image.
This method creates spontaneous textures and patterns that can’t be replicated precisely, adding originality to each print.
Fluid acrylics or high-flow acrylics work best, as they spread evenly and don’t dry out as quickly as heavy body paint.
Monoprinting can be used for underpainting or as a main component, allowing for layering over dried prints with more defined brushstrokes.
Crackling
Crackling introduces an aged, weathered effect to the paint surface using crackle paste. This paste is applied over a base coat of acrylic paint, and as it dries, it fractures to reveal the layer underneath.
For best results, use crackle paste on a rigid surface like a wood panel to avoid any unintended flexing or peeling. Applying thin layers achieves finer cracks, while thicker applications create bold, pronounced fissures.
Care and Maintenance of Acrylic Artworks
Cleaning Acrylic Paintings
Acrylic paintings accumulate dust and grime over time, especially on textured surfaces created with impasto technique or heavy gels.
Use a soft, lint-free cloth or microfiber cloth to gently wipe the surface, avoiding any abrasive motions that could scratch the paint.
Avoid water or any solvents, as they can alter the surface or dull the finish. If there’s persistent dirt on smooth areas, a soft brush works well to dislodge it without risking damage to the paint layer.
Protecting from UV Damage
Acrylic paint is relatively durable but can fade over time under direct sunlight. Varnishes, especially UV-protective ones, can help shield the colors from ultraviolet rays, preserving the vibrancy of both fluid and heavy body acrylics.
Matte or gloss varnish finishes can also provide an added layer of protection against dust and moisture.
Keep acrylic artwork out of direct sunlight whenever possible, ideally hanging it in areas with controlled lighting to maintain color integrity.
Storing Acrylic Paintings
Storing acrylic paintings properly prevents damage, warping, or unintended contact with other surfaces.
If stacked, place a sheet of glassine or wax paper between pieces to avoid any sticking or surface transfer. Stretched canvases should be stored upright, not lying flat, to maintain their structure.
For acrylic paintings on canvas boards or wood panels, keeping them in a dry, temperature-stable environment is key to avoiding moisture buildup, which can lead to warping or mold.
Avoiding Temperature and Humidity Extremes
Acrylics withstand a range of conditions but may become brittle in extremely cold temperatures or sticky in high humidity.
Avoid placing acrylic pieces near heat sources or in damp areas, as these can impact both the acrylic painting materials and the paint’s stability over time.
In fluctuating conditions, particularly when storing in basements or attics, consider using silica gel packs to absorb moisture and prevent potential issues with the canvas or wood expanding or contracting.
Pitfalls of Improper Maintenance
Using water for cleaning risks dulling the paint, especially in unvarnished areas, while direct sunlight accelerates color fading even on UV-protected pieces.
In improper storage, paintings may stick together, damaging the surface, and high humidity can lead to mold on porous surfaces like stretched canvas.
Beginner-Friendly Acrylic Painting Kits and Resources
Starter Kits for Acrylics
Starter kits for acrylics are designed with convenience in mind, often including a selection of heavy body or fluid acrylics, brushes, and a palette to get going right away.
These kits typically provide a few primary colors—like red, blue, yellow—alongside white and black, so you can start mixing.
A good starter kit might also include a small canvas pad or canvas board to practice on, making it easy to explore basic techniques without additional purchases.
Look for kits with synthetic brushes, as they handle acrylic paints better, especially with heavy pigments.
Online Tutorials and Classes
Online tutorials offer guided lessons that cover everything from wet-on-wet technique to acrylic pouring.
Platforms like Skillshare and YouTube provide a wealth of resources, including demonstrations on specific techniques such as glazing or scumbling. There are even classes focused on creating textured effects using gel mediums and modeling paste.
These classes often walk through the best practices for using acrylic painting materials effectively, making them ideal for beginners looking to understand the basics and build confidence.
Books and Guides for Beginners
Books on acrylic painting go deeper into techniques, offering step-by-step instructions for building fundamental skills.
Look for titles that cover everything from color mixing to using matte and gloss mediums. Some guides focus on specific styles—like landscapes, abstracts, or portraits—making them useful for those wanting a structured learning approach.
Having a physical guide on hand can be helpful for referencing techniques, especially when practicing new methods like sgraffito or stippling.
Acrylic Painting Apps
Apps are increasingly useful for beginners, offering color mixing tools, composition guides, and even digital brushes that mimic acrylic textures.
Apps like Procreate have tools that simulate acrylic painting techniques, letting users experiment with palette knives or brush textures before committing to canvas.
Digital tools provide a low-cost way to experiment, test out color schemes, and develop an eye for composition without using up actual materials.
Pitfalls of Using Kits and Resources
Some starter kits may include low-quality brushes that shed or don’t hold shape well, impacting your initial experience.
Online tutorials can vary greatly in quality, sometimes oversimplifying techniques or using poor materials that won’t reflect your own results.
In some books, techniques might assume a level of knowledge not suited for absolute beginners, while digital apps don’t always capture the real texture and drying times, which are critical in physical acrylic painting.
FAQ on Acrylic Painting Materials
What are the best types of paint for acrylic painting?
Answer
The best types depend on the effect you’re after. Heavy body acrylics are perfect for textured techniques and impasto, while fluid acrylics work best for detail work or glazing.
Beginners often start with soft body acrylics for their versatility, but experimenting with viscosities builds a range of effects.
Which surfaces can I use for acrylic painting?
Answer
Acrylics are versatile and can work on stretched canvas, canvas board, wood panels, and even specially designed acrylic paper.
Each surface brings a different texture; for instance, wood panels offer a smooth, rigid base that holds paint well, while canvas adds texture. Experimenting with surfaces changes the final outcome.
What tools do I need besides brushes?
Answer
For texture, use palette knives and gel mediums. Brushes are essential, but additional tools like stencil brushes and sponges open up new possibilities.
Texture tools such as combs or scrapers can add unique patterns, while masking tape helps create clean, defined edges in abstract work.
How do I thin acrylic paint?
Thin acrylics with water for light washes or a fluid medium to maintain vibrancy. Adding too much water can cause pigment separation, so using a medium keeps the color intact while reducing viscosity.
A pouring medium is another option for fluid, even layers in acrylic pouring.
Can I mix acrylic paints with other materials?
Yes, gel mediums, modeling paste, and even sand or pumice can add texture and body to acrylic paint.
These materials change the paint’s consistency without diluting color. Gloss medium intensifies colors, while matte medium reduces shine.
Combining elements lets you create layered, dimensional works.
How should I clean my brushes after using acrylics?
Use lukewarm water and brush soap immediately after painting. Acrylics dry fast and can harden on brushes, so don’t wait.
For tougher buildup, a brush cleaner helps preserve the bristles. If the paint has dried, soak brushes in a gentle cleaning solution to loosen any remaining residue.
How do I preserve an acrylic painting?
A varnish coat, either gloss or matte, protects the painting from dust and UV light. Acrylics are durable, but over time they can fade without protection.
Use a UV-protective varnish and keep the painting out of direct sunlight. Proper varnishing preserves colors and protects against moisture.
What’s the best way to achieve texture with acrylics?
Use heavy body acrylics or add a gel medium for thickness. For three-dimensional textures, modeling paste or crackle paste creates bold effects.
Using a palette knife adds ridges, while tools like sponges or combs introduce finer textures. Building layers also enhances depth and visual interest.
Can acrylics be used like watercolors?
With fluid medium or additional water, acrylics can be diluted to mimic the look of watercolors.
This technique works well on acrylic paper, canvas pads, or primed surfaces. The key difference is acrylics dry waterproof, so layering doesn’t disturb earlier washes, allowing for greater control and detail.
What are some beginner-friendly kits for acrylic painting?
Beginner kits often include primary colors, a few brushes, and small surfaces like canvas boards.
Look for kits with heavy body or soft body acrylics, which are easy to handle for beginners.
Kits with synthetic brushes, palette paper, and small amounts of gloss or matte medium are practical for initial practice.
Conclusion
Acrylic painting materials open up endless ways to experiment, refine, and push creative boundaries.
With the right paints, from heavy body to fluid acrylics, alongside tools like palette knives, texture mediums, and quality brushes, it’s possible to create textures, blends, and layers that fit any artistic vision.
By selecting the proper surfaces—canvas, wood panels, or acrylic paper—and learning to preserve each piece with varnish and careful maintenance, you’re protecting both the art and the effort that goes into it.
As each tool, paint type, and technique brings its own character, having a clear grasp of these materials means more control and flexibility in your work.
Investing time in mastering each of these essentials elevates your skills, so you can continue creating pieces that are not only visually striking but also built to last.
